FMI Studies in Obesity

FMI Studies in Obesity Obesity: insights from fMRI imaging studies Abstract One-third of the US adult population is obese. Obesity is associated with serious medical complications and costs a lot of money. In my paper, we will study this phenomena with fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) when subjects were at resting state (subjects were instructed simply to keep their eyes closed and to not think of anything in particular). Before this, we postulate that there will be disruption in neural circuits, which result in obesity. There are four circuits that we mainly focus on: (a) reward, located in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the ventral pallidum; (b) motivation/drive, located in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the subcallosal cortex; (c) memory and learning, located in the amygdala and the hippocampus; and (d) control, located in the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate gyrus (CG). We used SPM, which based on Matlab, to analyse our data, and processed the results by GCA (Granger causality analysis). Through it, we will get the connection between two ROIs(region of interesting). Key words: obesity; fMRI; resting state; GCA(Granger causality analysis) Introduction Obesity is a global problem with the improvement of our life. There are one-third of US adult population who is obese, whose body mass index(BMI)≠¥30 kg*m-2.[1] Undoubtedly, obesity costs a lot because it is associated with serious diseases(e.g. diabetes, heart disease, fatty liver and some cancers)[2,3]. What lead to obesity are complex and ambiguity, such as social and cultural factors, environments that promote unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity, individual factors, etc [4]. Obesity with long time can result in function changes in human brain, but we do not know how this works. New imaging technologies such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have provided new ways to investigate the relationship of human brain. Much of previous studies were based on PET images which focus on the brain dopamine system, they found that there are different between normal and obese in DA system. Methods Based on previous studies, we study function changes of human brain by fMRI. On account of discover that others found before, we support some hypotheses that obesity can result in difference between normal and obese. We focused on four brain circuits in our research which were discussed in drug-addiction. As well, what we found maybe provide a method to treat obesity. There are two groups, one is normal and the other is obesity. The information of subjects are showed in Figure1. In our experiment, there were three groups, which were obesity before surgery and after one month, compared with the normal control. We collected data form TangDu Hospital. During scanning, subjects were asked for closing eyes Figure1:  Subjects Information. StandardDeviation(STD). Body Mass Index(BMI). Yale Food Addiction scale(YFAS). Sympton Check List 90(SCL90). without thinking anything but waking. Before scanning, they filled a questionnaire, which include depression, anxiety, and so on, to see their mental state. In this address, we just analysed the data that scanned before surgery and normal control. Obesity involved multiple brain circuits Obesity can result in multiple variation, however, there are four circuits which are very important in obesity: (a) reward, located in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the ventral pallidum; (b) motivation/drive, located in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the subcallosal cortex; (c) memory and learning, located in the amygdala and the hippocampus; and (d) control, located in the prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate gyrus (CG). These circuits work together and change with experience[5,6]. Moreover, there are other circuits involved in obesity which we will study further. Four circuits in obesity We processed data through SPM,[7] which is based on matlab. After that, we analysed the data by GCA(Granger Casual Analysis)[8]. At resting state, we found that there was abnormal in motivation/drive circuit which receded in obesity than normal (figure2). Because of the exception of motivation, it could lead to disorder of other circuits. In reward circuit, the saliency value to food stimulation was reset in obesity, which resulted in overeating to reach satisfy. Circuit of memory and learning maybe influence individual habit. When somebody who is overweight saw food or some place for more time. He or she would remember the stimulation and when he or she met it again, it would arouse memory to drive someone to get it. We also found that there was reduction in control circuit. Due to this reduction, obesity can not control their eating behavior very well even if they were full. Based   Figure2:Result of GCA [10] . on these disorder, we postulate that long-term obesity destroyed human brain function  through the top-down modulation[9]. Vulnerability to obesity A challenging problem in the neurobiology of obesity is to understand why some individuals become obese while others do not. Genetic factors are estimated to contribute between 45% and 85% of the variability in BMI [3,4]. Beyond that, we hypothesize that decreased sensitivity of reward circuit and the disorder of control circuit in obesity would lead a subject more or less vulnerable to food. At the same time, the environment that subjects could get high calorie food was significant. Because of these findings, obese could lose fat by intervening the brain circuits or controlling the environment around obesity. Discussion In our study, we just focused on four brain circuits. There were other circuits which involved in obesity. In further study, we would find them and research their function. In the future, our discover maybe be applied to clinic treatment with less wounds. There are some limitation in our experiment, for example, we didn’t get the result of fMRI what was gotten when subjects were at tasking state(somebody lies on bed with seeing images which are about low or high calorie food). In the further research, we will combine these result and obtain an excellent conclusion. Acknowledgments This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China. My tutor gave me help on many fronts. I have to appreciate upperclassmen who gave me help too. The doctors who scanned subjects, the subjects who coordinated our experiment and the authors who provided idea should be given great appreciation. Finally, thanking Dr. Karen for teaching me how to address our experiment. References [1] N.D. Volkow, Gene-Jack Wang and R.D. Baler, Reward, dopamine and the control of food intake: implications for obesity, Trends in Cognitive Sciences January 2011, Vol. 15, No. 1. [2] Finkelstein, E.A.et al.(2009) Annual medical spending attributable to obesity: payer-and service-specific estimates. Health Aff.28, w822–w831 [3] Baessler, A.et al.(2005) Genetic linkage and association of the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (ghrelin receptor) gene in human obesity. Diabetes 54, 259–267 [4] Silventoinen, K. and Kaprio, J. (2009) Genetics of tracking of body mass index from birth to late middle age: evidence from twin and family studies. Obes. Facts 2, 196–202 [5] N. D. Volkow, J. S. Fowler, and Gene-Jack Wang,(2003) The addicted human brain: insights from imaging studies, PERSPECTIVE SERIES, 111:1444–1451. [6] N.D. Volkow, B. Rosen, and L.Farde, 1997. Imaging the living human brain: magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 94:2787–2788. [7] ReHofMRI1.0 (by Dr. HE Yong, free download from http://www.bic.mni.mcgill.ca/users/yonghe) [8] Mingzhou Ding, Yonghong Chen, Steven L. Bressler, Granger Causality: Basic Theory and Application‎ to ‎Neuroscience†, Preprint submitted to Elsevier Science,2008.02.07. [9] Wen X, Liu Y, Yao L, Ding M (2013) Top-down regulation of default mode activity in spatial visual attention. J Neurosci 33(15): 6444 –6453 [10] Mingzhou Ding, Yonghong Chen,(2006) Granger Causality: Basic Theory and Application to Neuroscience, Preprint submitted to Elsevier Science, arXiv:q-bio/0608035v1 Cai Weiwei

Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper -- Yellow Wallpaper essays

Gender Roles in The Yellow Wallpaper  Ã‚        Ã‚  Ã‚   In Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper," the reader is treated to an intimate portrait of developing insanity. At the same time, the story's first person narrator provides insight into the social attitudes of the story's late Victorian time period. The story sets up a sense of gradually increasing distrust between the narrator and her husband, John, a doctor, which suggests that gender roles were strictly defined; however, as the story is just one representation of the time period, the examination of other sources is necessary to better understand the nature of American attitudes in the late 1800s. Specifically, this essay will analyze the representation of women's roles in "The Yellow Wallpaper" alongside two other texts produced during this time period, in the effort to discover whether Gilman's depiction of women accurately reflects the society that produced it.    "The Yellow Wallpaper" features an unnamed female narrator who serves to exemplify the expectations placed upon women of the time period. As we are told early on, she is suffering from a "nervous condition" (Gilman 1). While we are not told the specific nature of this condition, we do discover that the cure prescribed by John, the narrator's husband and doctor, entails taking "phosphates or phosphites--whichever it is, and tonics, and journeys, and air, and exercise" while intellectual "work" is "absolutely forbidden Ãâ€" until [she is] well again"   (Gilman 1). This poses a particular problem for the narrator, due to her desire to write, which she continues to do "in spite of them," and causes her to hide her writing to avoid facing "heavy opposition" (Gilman 1). The treatment to which t... ...Mitchell, seems all the more plausible. After all, her socially-defined role as the dutiful wife and mother was being constrained by her inability to withstand the treatment foisted upon her by a man trained to disregard his patients' feelings. As a woman, she had no socially sanctioned way to respond to the problems she faced. Rather than wonder, as John does throughout the story, why his wife is becoming increasingly deranged, readers of this story should only wonder why, given the mores of the time period, there weren't far more stories like it.    Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper." English 101 Homepage. August 1999 . Mitchell, S. Weir. The Evolution of the Rest Treatment. English 101 Course Packet. Chico: Mr Kopy, 1999. Power, Susan. The Ugly-Girl Papers. English 101 Course Packet. Chico: Mr Kopy, 1999.      

Pride that Leads to Tragedy

Pride can be a very pernicious quality in a person. This theme is displayed very well by Creon, a character in the book Antigone and also the tragic hero, whose pride led him to a tragic downfall. Sophocles, the author of this Greek drama, encompasses tragedy in most of his plays. As I mentioned before, a bad quality of Creon is his obstinacy. This got in the way of a lot of things, including his family. Creon, the king of Thebes, believed at one point that State comes before family. The reason he said that statement is because he wanted to prevent anarchy and if he were to let only his family break the law, then all the townspeople would get very angry. Letting his condescension blind him, Creon ignored the warning of Tiresias, a blind prophet, and his son Haemon. Following this rebuff, Creon gets a wake-up call from the gods and loses most of his family. Although he went through this cataclysm, he did it with the seemliness he had not previously displayed. He acted so noble because the hardships he went through changed his principles. Creon realizes that family should come before state and that he did not need to let his pride get in the way of his duties as a part of his family. The audience, everyone who read the book in Mrs. Pink s class, at one point probably felt sorry for Creon. He had to deal with so many different adversities that he went from a bad guy persona to a person that deserved sympathy. Even though we may have felt sorry for Creon at one time, he did not deserve too much pity because he could have changed his mind at one point. He had many opportunities to change his mind, including when he talked to Tiresisas, as I stated before. If Creon had rethought his arrogance, his fate wouldn t have been half as bad as it turned out to be. In closing, Creon was an arrogant, conceited person until he experienced the loss of his family. After he lost them, he was changed in every way that he could be, emotionally. Creon was the tragic hero because of the fact that his pride led him to a tragic downfall.

Candle Science Trick to Extinguish Fire with Carbon Dioxide

Candle Science Trick to Extinguish Fire with Carbon Dioxide You know you can put out a candle flame by pouring water on it. In this science magic trick or demonstration, the candle will go out when you pour air onto it. Candle Science Magic Trick Materials A lit candleA transparent glass (so people can see what is inside the glass)Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)Vinegar (weak acetic acid) Set up the Magic Trick In the glass, mix together a little baking soda and vinegar. You want roughly equal amounts of the chemicals, like 2 tablespoons each.Put your hand over the glass to keep the carbon dioxide from mixing too much with the outside air.Youre ready to blow out a candle. If you dont have a candle handy, you can cover the glass with plastic wrap to store the carbon dioxide. How to Blow Out the Candle with Chemistry Simply pour the gas from the glass onto the candle. Try to avoid splashing liquid on the flame, since its not exactly amazing when water puts out a fire. The flame will be extinguished by the invisible gas. Another way to perform this trick is to pour the gas that you just made into an empty glass and then pour the apparently empty glass over the candle flame. How the Candle Trick Works When you mix baking soda and vinegar together, you produce carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide is heavier than air, so it will sit in the bottom of the glass. When you pour the gas from glass onto the candle, you are pouring out the carbon dioxide, which will sink and displace the (oxygen-containing) air surrounding the candle with carbon dioxide. This suffocates the flame and it goes out. Carbon dioxide gas from other sources works the same way, so you could also perform this candle trick using gas collected from the sublimation of dry ice (solid carbon dioxide). How Blowing Out a Candle Works When you blow out a candle, your breath contains more carbon dioxide than it did when you inhaled the air, but theres still oxygen that can support wax combustion. So, you may be wondering why the flame is extinguished. Its because a candle needs three things to sustain a flame: fuel, oxygen, and heat. The heat overcomes the energy needed for the combustion reaction reaction. If you take it away, the flame cant sustain itself. When you blow on a candle, you force the heat away from the wick. The wax drops below the temperature needed to support combustion and the flame goes out. However, there is still wax vapor around the wick. If you bring a lit match close to a recently extinguished candle, the flame will re-light itself.

JFK as Irish Catholic essays

JFK as Irish Catholic essays The racial identity and racial formation of the Irish is rooted back to the English conquest and hostility toward Catholicism. The Irish were deemed savages, a social group that did not know how to use land properly. Many had fled from Ireland due to oppression and loss of land. The Irish were not accepted socially as being white. The Irish were able to politically use the socially accepted racial identity, whiteness, to overcome ethnic discrimination. The Irish used to be the object of race riots, in which along with the blacks they would be lynched. By politically changing how the pubic identified who they were, they were able to escape this oppression. The Irish Americans were becoming a powerful economic and political group and because of this their racial distinctions soon became less evident. The Irish Americans who were once classified as Celts, were now of Caucasian fold. By being racially classified as Caucasian the Irish Americans would find that their would be a lot more political and economic opportunities. The ethnic group that was once racially personified as being lazy, self-indulgent and vain now hold prominent figures in all aspects of society. The Irish were able to challenge the Irish race designation, an gain a new social respect by racially being labeled Caucasian. Unfortunately race will forever play a dominant role within the social aspect of American culture. Collectively as a society it is important that we eliminate prejudice and discrimination as diversity has become a central aspect of our culture. We will however never reach equality unless the dominance and superiority that underlies whiteness within our culture is erased. The idea of racially categorizing certain individuals as being white is a fallacy. America invented this ethnicity as a means to control who has political and econ ...

Legal skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Legal skills - Essay Example Stephen Lennard for the Plaintiffs. 5. What remedies were Interfoto Picture Library Ltd seeking in the Court of Appeal? (2 marks) They were looking to uphold the judgment of the trial court, which had awarded them substantial damages against the defendant. 6. Which cases were applied by the Court of Appeal? (2 marks) Parker v. South Eastern Railway Company; J Spurling Ltd. v. Bradshaw; Thornton v. Shoe Lane Parking Ltd.; McCutcheon v. David MacBrayne Ltd. 7. In what court was McCutcheon v David MacBrayne Ltd [1964] 1 All ER 430 heard?(1 mark) Court of Session. 8. What are the material facts of Interfoto Picture Library v Stiletto Visual Programmes? (6 marks) The plaintiffs run a photographic transparency lending library. After the defendants inquired, the plaintiffs sent the defendants 47 transparencies and a delivery note that had 9 printed conditions on it. Condition 2 stated that the transparencies must be returned to the plaintiff after 14 days, otherwise there would be a ?5 a da y penalty for every day after 14 days that the defendants held onto the transparencies. The defendants returned the transparencies four weeks later, claiming that they did not read the printed conditions. The bill to the defendants was ?3,738. The plaintiffs did try to call the defendants twice before the defendants gave back the transparencies. The defendants refused to pay. 9. ... 11. What were the two arguments made by the defendant? (6 marks) The defendants claimed that the Condition 2 was never a part of the contract, as the defendants never received the delivery note. They also claimed that the contract between the two parties was formed before they knew about the delivery note. 12. How does the basis for the decision in Parker v South Eastern Rly Co (1877) 2CPD 416 differ from that in Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd [1956] 1 All ER 686? (2 marks) In Parker, the court looked at the terms as a whole, and decided if the terms, as a whole, were brought to the attention of the other party. In Thornton, the court decided that a particularly onerous term should be brought to the attention of the party, and if that particularly onerous term was not brought to the party's attention, that this term did not become a part of the contract. 13. (a) How did counsel for the plaintiff distinguish Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd [1956] 1 All ER 686? (2 marks) They state that the Thornton case deals with an exemption clause, and the holding should be limited to exemption clauses. Since their case did not involve an exemption clause, they argued that the holding in Thornton did not apply. (b) Was this distinction was accepted by Dillon LJ and explain his reasoning on the issue. (2 marks) No. Dillon stated that what was stated in the Thornton case was a general application of law, therefore the holding could be applied to any onerous statement in any contract. 14. (a) What principle does Bingham LJ say is not an overriding principle of English law? (1 mark) In making and carrying out contracts, each party must act in good faith. (b) How has English law dealt with this principle? Give examples. (4 marks) In

Taking Genre Out of Music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Taking Genre Out of Music - Essay Example When listening to music, most will state interests according to the genre first as well as which singers or musicians are most popular within this genre. However, this limits the music because of the stereotypes which surround the music while changing the potential experiments which musicians might use without the music. To allow music to be accessible to all groups without labels or limits, the genre should be taken out of music. This allows those who are interested in different variations of music to find the best overall sounds while providing musicians with alternatives for experimentation. Furthermore, it would introduce a different sense of appreciation while the music would no longer be recognized first by the stereotypes. The concept of genre is one which is based on labeling music according to what the songs by a specific artist sound like. Often, this depicts the instrumentation used, arrangements that are played and the overall sound that the musician conveys. ... The content of both is similar, specifically with the idea of women needing men in relationships. Lyrics by Griggs include â€Å"she don’t know how much I need her, she don’t know I’d fall apart† and lyrics with McGraw are similar, with â€Å"just to see you smile / I’d do anything that you wanted me to.† The same topic as well as the same arrangements is then seen because of the expectations with the genre. Another aspect that is related to the genre and the approach to the music is based on responses from society and how this relates to the music. The genre is all that most will look at before determining if the music should be listened to or not. Stereotypes are built around the genre of music, specifically because of the expectations with the music. More important, the stereotypes create a specific sense of personality and behavior which is known to define the individual and how they respond to the music. Beliefs one may have, behaviors f rom society and their association with the genre then creates divisions between specific groups of individuals. All which create these different behaviors are known to relate directly to genres of music which are used to identify the individual, which creates stereotypes not only from the music but also from the cultural relationship which many create from this (Rentfrow, Gosling, 306). The association with genre that is based on the expectations from the musician as well as the social association from those in society is one which becomes limiting in expression. This is important to note because of stereotypes which are created because of the identity of genre which many use to show a specific behavior and which creates a sense of separation from others.